Buddies portrait

The customer who sent me this photo has ordered from me twice before! I guess I have a fan. :) I should do something special for her.

Here is the finished drawing.

I just realized that I am probably commissioned draw boys more often than girls. Weird, huh?

Radiant portrait, finished!

The portrait of the beautiful bride that I've been working on is finished, and here it is. It's a very simple, minimalistic portrait, but I like that about it. The softness keeps the focus on the eyes and smile. The flowers on the left, which are really part of the dress, look kind of like an abstract accent.

Next I am going to draw this groom. These two portraits are for the same customer, so I am trying to give the two drawings a similar feel.

Did I mention that these portraits are going to Australia? I am psyched about that. So far drawworm drawings have been sent to England, Germany, a few overseas APO addresses, and now Australia too. Awesome.

Radiant portrait, part 1

I've been given the chance to draw a very lovely bride and groom. Although I received this commission over a week ago, I've been so busy with finals that I only recently got started on it. Thankfully, the customer was very gracious and understanding.

But now finals are over, and I'm happy to get back to my pencil drawings. As you may know, I did a lot of oil painting this semester, and I learned a ton of good stuff! I am really excited to apply what I've learned about value and edge control to pencil drawing, to give my portraits a more artistic look - and this is the perfect photo to start with!

Sweetheart Portrait, in progress

What a beautiful little girl. Love her hair! And those long eyelashes too!

Curly hair takes a lot of careful work and attention to shading, but I enjoy doing it.

Daddy's little girl portrait, part 1

I am excited to be working on a large portrait of this adorable little girl and her adoring father. I mean, just look at them. Awwww.

This is one of the best photos I've worked from in a while: it's large, clear and mostly well-lit. It's great for an 11x14 size, which allows for lots of detail. Here's what the drawing looks like so far.

BFFs portrait, part 1

This is my newest pencil portrait. Because the photo is a bit dark and blurry, the customer gave me a second one to work from as a reference, which is helpful. Still, I was struggling with this one at first.

Shudder. This poor lady looks like a man. A freaky man. It's pretty rare that I actually scrap a drawing and start over from scratch. But this time, I did.

...and it's much better now. (It's not finished yet, though!)

Vintage couple drawing, part 2

Still working on the drawing of this lovely vintage couple. The lace overlay of the wedding dress is definitely presenting me with a challenge. Not only is there a floral pattern, but there seem to be multiple layers and they're all casting shadows on each other.

I want the finished wedding dress to look convincing, not confusing. I know I can do it, it's just going to take some time and a lot of careful shading.

I'm back!

I'm back from a long haitus! We moved to a new apartment, which as you know is an exhausting process. Since then, I've been suffering from a malady almost every blogger experiences at some point - the "why-do-I-even-bother-no-one-cares-what-I-write-except-my-parents" bug.

Now I have a new Etsy commission that I'm excited to share with...uh, whoever is out there.

This sweet couple is the customer's parents. That's quite a dress, isn't it? I really like the way the bottom part looks. Drawing the lace is going to be a challenge because it will mean a lot of negative drawing (drawing around white space). Luckily the customer ordered a large 11x14 size, so I have plenty of room for all this detail. I've already off to a good start on the couple's faces.

Each of their faces is only 1 inch wide!

(By the way, thanks for your feedback on a fabric for my cubicle. I chose a fabric and put it up, and I'll take a picture of it soon!)

Happy 50th Anniversary portrait, part 1

This couple is going to be celebrating their 50th anniversary soon! (Wow!) It is my honor to create a drawing for them, a gift from the couple's children. The customer needs it shipped by Friday, so I have been hustling to get this finished!

In order to get more detail in their faces, I cropped the photo and scooted the two lovebirds closer together.

I think these are the oldest people I've ever drawn, and it's a bit of a challenge because the skin is so much more complex than, say, a baby's. Still having fun with it, though!

Pajama Portrait, part 2

With three faces to draw and an 11x14 size, this portrait is definitely taking a while to finish! I really like the way it's turning out though; it's great to be able to include so much detail in each face. Next I'm going to add in a shaded background and more detail into the shirts.

Pajamas Portrait, part 1

These face-meltingly adorable tykes are going to be the subject of a new, 11x14 drawing. The customer sent me a huge, high-resolution photograph, so there's plenty of detail to work with, which is essential for a large drawing.

Since I'm left-handed, I'm working on the drawing from right to left. They're so cute that it's hard not to smile while drawing them.

Happy 40th Birthday portrait, part 2

This drawing is coming along quickly! I like drawing while watching my favorite tv shows on Hulu.

Happy 40th Birthday portrait, part 1

A few days ago Char of delightdesginbiz contacted me about a gift for her husband's 40th birthday. Char sells very nice blog layouts in her Etsy shop, so we worked out a trade. I'm making 5x7 drawing for her, and she'll be designing a new layout for this blog. :)

Few things in life are better than sleeping babies, amiright? Here's what I've got so far:

To Where You Are, part 2

My bridal portrait is progressing. I was having a little bit of trouble drawing the bride's face last night. Whenever I drew wrinkles on her face, as in the photo, she suddenly began to look like a creepy old lady. It still needs some work, I think.

Check out this bed I found online. It looks like something a princess would sleep in, in one of those vintage fairy tale books with elaborate illustrations. Or maybe one of Tolkien's elves living in Lothlorien. I like to fall asleep at night imagining that I'm an elvish princess, so I would be pretty happy in this bed.

 

Photo from Shawn Lovell Metalworks

The price is $15,000. I'm hoping that IKEA will make a knockoff version and sell it for $39.99. It could happen, right?

To Where You Are, part 1

 

Photo by Drozian Photoworks

It's been a while since I did a portrait. I need an example of a two-person wedding portrait for my Etsy shop, so I snagged this lovely photo from Drozian Photoworks and started drawing.

This evening I started working on the groom's face while watching the (beautiful but kind of depressing) movie Bright Star. Have you seen that movie? Depressing, right?

Self-portrait, part 2

 

I like the way the hair is turning out so far. Right now I'm just putting down the basic shapes before I try and mess it up a little, by adding frizz and stray hairs. That's the fun part!

In real life, my hair becomes frizzy totally on it's own. Amazing!

Self-portrait, part 1

Photo by Drozian Photoworks

Go ahead. Say it.

Say it.

I look young.

Because that's what everybody says. "Wow, I thought you were still in high school!" It's become a running joke in my life. I know, I know, I'll be thankful for this someday. Maybe when I'm forty, when people stop offering to hold my hand when I cross the street.

I was lucky enough to have my photos taken by Drozian Photoworks this winter. Lots of people say that hair is difficult to draw, especially curly hair. But I love drawing hair, especially curly hair! I like it because you can improvise - everything doesn't have to be exactly photographically accurate. I'm drawing my hair to be less frizzy than it is in the photo.

All of Your Love portrait, part 3

 

I really really like how this is turning out so far - even if the mother's left eye does look a little tweaked out at the moment. The drawing should be done pretty soon!

In the meantime, for all you Etsy sellers out there: Handmade Marketer, which has a lot of good tips for handmade sellers, has compiled a list of websites where you can advertise your craft for free. Definitely check it out - it's kept me busy this week!

All of Your Love portrait, part 2

I really like the way this is coming out so far. It's been a long time since I've drawn a closeup of faces, which are my very favorite thing to draw.

On another note, today I was the featured artist at the Handmade Highway blog! You can read a little bit about me in the feature. I wish I had put more thought into my answers, because they're totally cheesy.

All of Your Love portrait, part 1

When Casey of the Etsy shop caseynianjohnson contacted me for a drawing, I was pretty surprised. Why? Because in her shop she sells, well...portraits, including some pencil portraits which are really quite good. So...why did she want a drawing from me?

"I like to have other peoples work in my house too!" she said. Then she sent me a photo that I just couldn't resist.

D'awwww. 

Let's do this.